Intelligent Multimedia e-Catalog

ABSTRACT

An intelligent product catalog system provides for electronic creation, management and viewing of product information using a multimedia display system. A central database repository stores the product information and provides for an unlimited number of product attributes and dynamic reconfiguration of the product information. The central database repository comprises a metadata system, a scheme system and an object model system. A plurality of applications access the central database repository, the applications being automatically adaptive to the dynamic reconfiguration of the product information. A user interface provides display, sorting and filtering of the product information including the unlimited number of product attributes.

RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/212,390, filed Dec. 6, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/596,568, filed on Dec. 8, 2017. Theentire teachings of the above application(s) are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

eCommerce is a tsunami ready to hit every major supplier. Gartnerestimates that eCommerce will grow from a $500 million market in 1999 toa $7.3 trillion market by 2004. Goldman Sachs estimates that computersand networking will be the second largest eCommerce market segmentcomprising 15% of the B2B Internet economy. This fundamental technologyshift is revolutionizing the way companies sell, market and supporttheir products. The consequence of failing to meet this second wave ofInternet technology could mean extinction for many suppliers.

To be eCommerce-ready starts with building an intelligent content andinformation architecture for supplier's product information—anInternet-ready and transaction-ready intelligent multimedia productcatalog. Today most companies have deployed simple catalogs on their Websites in graphical form incorporating HTML and PDF formats. Althoughthese catalogs have provided unprecedented viewing access they have onemajor drawback—they can only be interpreted by people and not computers.Computer accessible intelligent product catalogs are the fuel ofeCommerce, without them products can't be selected, transactions can'tbe completed, B2B exchanges are stalled and distributors and VARs areunable to book business over the Internet.

Intelligent content is key to keeping channels and marketing partnersefficient. Currently, suppliers who have taken the initiative ineCommerce are finding that they have to push content to many thousandsof Web sites a day. If suppliers are not ready for online eCommerce theycould be locked out of doing business with major corporations andlimiting their reach with distribution channels. Suppliers who don'ttake control of their product catalogs will risk their brand identity inthe eCommerce marketplace. Vendors who don't take the initiative tocreate catalogs in electronic form are finding that distributors,exchanges and portals are creating their product content for them. Thiscan result in the vendor's products being reduced to an undifferentiatedcommodity. Additionally, distributors may have biases, causing supplierproducts to be de-emphasized against competitors. Any errors orinaccuracies penalize suppliers with unnecessary lost sales or productreturns. Suppliers who take an initiative will have strong control overtheir brand and enhance their market position.

Although the impact of these technology shifts is affecting allsuppliers, network infrastructure suppliers have unique productcharacteristics and distribution channels that require custom strategiesand solutions. The catalog content, architecture and design must supportsignificantly greater product information and depth. Without detailedproduct documentation such as engineering drawings, installationspecifications, CAD Symbols and other data suppliers risk a reducedability to be “designed-in” to network infrastructure projects. Theworkflow involved in designing products requires reference to technicalspecifications, drawings and CAD information. Without this informationproducts cannot be incorporated in a Request For Proposal (RFP), orrecommended for purchase. Procurement organizations often must procurebased on a drawing for these products and not a specific StockkeepingUnit (SKU). Network infrastructure products are installed in missioncritical networks that cannot afford to experience any downtime. Serviceand maintenance on these components is critical. Documentation of allproducts must be available for years after their purchase. Any vendorwho overlooks this requirement is making their product difficult tomaintain and expensive in terms of total cost of ownership.

Electronic product catalogs have become a prerequisite for capturing andmaintaining strategic relationships between major corporations. Ninetypercent of the procurement organizations of Fortune 1000 have electronicpurchasing/exchange projects in progress or planning. The return oninvestment (ROI) for these companies is compelling. It costs largecompanies approximately $80-$200 per paper purchase order (PO). Withelectronic purchasing through an exchange this is reduced to about$8-$10. An electronic exchange can also prevent “rogue purchases” andhelp a company realize significant discounts as a result of largervolume purchases per approved vendor. An electronic catalog is theprerequisite for all eCommerce transactions today and tomorrow. Althoughend users/exchanges/distributors are entering product content on theirown without the assistance of suppliers, any vendor who can offer theirproduct content in a useful form and capture the critical approvedvendor list (AVL) slots will take business away from their competitors.As the number of suppliers is reduced, revenue from existing accountswill be increased. Finally, a large barrier to entry will be establishedas it will be difficult for competitors to unseat an existing approvedvendor. Network infrastructure product companies have some uniquebusiness requirements. Their products have long life cycles afterinitial selection and procurement. Network infrastructure products aretechnically complex, with extensive issues with respect toconfiguration, software releases and compatibility. Total cost ofownership of network infrastructure products often exceeds initialprocurement cost due to being components of mission critical networkswhere any downtime experienced with the product can result in millionsof dollars or loss, and networks infrastructures have extensivemaintenance, monitoring and repair organizations to keep their eCommerceand internal operations running.

If vendors address the total cost of ownership associated with theirproducts then their value proposition to the end user will be greatlyenhanced. Complex sales processes affect the ability to be “designed-in”to network infrastructure projects. The workflow involved in designingand maintaining network infrastructure products during the “cradle tograve” life cycle is complex, involves many manual steps and manyexternal companies/organizations. The sales process involves indirectchannels for distribution and many professional services organizationswhich recommend, design-in, install and service the products. Theprocurement process for complex products often requires references totechnical specifications and drawings to execute a purchase transaction.If vendors address the process associated with selling and influencingthe recommendation of their products then their value proposition to thevalue added resellers (VARs), distributors, partners and influencers inthe sales cycle will be greatly increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Companies are discovering that the existing catalogs on their web siteare obsolete and insufficient for eCommerce. While existing catalogswill support human viewing they are not structure to assist softwareprograms in completing transactions.

Intelligent multimedia electronic catalogs allow a supplier's product tobe designed into complex network infrastructure projects while providingeffective and efficient control of the supplier's content. Intelligentmultimedia electronic catalogs incorporate intelligence by structuringproduct data to support electronic search and export. The data must bestandardized and cross referenced. The catalog must be flexible enoughto handle unlimited attributes, product categories and data types. Apublishing engine controlling the representation and distribution ofproduct content is key to preserving a supplier's brand in this new eraof eCommerce. This enables partners access to content while preservingbrand identity by using tools that both push content to partners andpull viewers back to the supplier. Supporting the number of differentviewing audiences for product information requires an architecture andstructures designed into the catalog to satisfy all of the combinationsand permutations of languages, file formats, browser types that mustaccess the catalog.

In one preferred embodiment an intelligent multimedia electronic catalog(e-catalog or third generation catalog) for network infrastructureproducts is provided. The complexity of network infrastructure products,workflow, distribution, procurement and life cycle maintenance requiresmore documentation and tools than conventional maintenance, repair andoperation (MRO) catalogs. Network infrastructure products have numeroustechnical documents which must be available during the design,procurement, installation, test and maintenance cycle. Networkinfrastructure products also require configuration information fordesign and procurement. Tools must be built into the electronic catalogto assist in this process. Technical specifications differ betweenproducts, thus requiring comparison tools for price/performanceanalysis. Technical information regarding these products must bedeveloped by experts with industry specific domain knowledge. Networkinfrastructure products have unique use models due to the numerousorganizations involved in their life cycle and the associated complexworkflow. Electronic catalogs must provide for rapid development timesas eCommerce requires fast reactions to changing market conditions.

The present invention provides an intelligent product catalog system forelectronic creation, management and viewing of product information usinga multimedia display system. A central database repository for storingthe product information provides for an unlimited number of productattributes and dynamic reconfiguration of the product information. Thecentral database repository comprises a metadata system, a scheme systemand an object model system. A plurality of applications access thecentral database repository, the applications being automaticallyadaptive to the dynamic reconfiguration of the product information. Auser interface provides display, sorting and filtering of the productinformation including the unlimited number of product attributes.Specific products, comprising components, are selected based upon theproduct information, the selected products compose a system. The displayof product and system data is dynamically re-rendered to reflect addedproduct options. The scheme system provides configuration rules forconfiguring products based on the product information. The configurationrules provide for presenting only valid configurations of productoptions for the products. The configuration rules provide budget basedconfiguration analysis such only the addition of product options thatare within a predefined limit are presented. The budget is based upon atleast one of: dimensions, weight, temperature, power consumption, airflow and cost. The configuration rules provide for presenting completedproduct bill of materials information prior to the bill of materialsinformation entering an order entry system. The configuration rulesprovide for presenting only options that do not conflict with otheroptions already selected for the product. A reporting engine tracks andrecords activity of actual product selection criteria used during a usersession. A syndication and publication system provides for exporting ofcustom formatted product information. Exporting can be done periodicallyand at predefined intervals. The display includes an intelligent bill ofmaterials displaying selected products and selected options fordisplaying products associated with a system, the display providingdrill down for detailed information on the product. One preferredembodiment of the present invention provides a system for the creationof an intelligent multimedia e-catalog for network infrastructureproducts.

Electronic catalogs of the prior art offer limited graphics anddescriptions with some linking (e.g., HTML Web pages). Some catalogs areimplemented using simple products and offer more advanced staticgraphics (e.g., GIF), description and a limited database for parts. Incontrast, the present invention provides dynamic graphics, unlimitedattributes for describing product information (including the ability todefine hierarchies of product descriptions), configuration rules,consistent object models and an intelligent bill of materialsdecomposition process.

Embodiments are directed to a computer-implemented conversation-basedcustomer support system. The system includes a conversation engine(chatbot) coupled to a conversation interface. The conversation engine(chatbot) comprising: a conversation builder for building and processingconversations with a user based on intent. The conversation engine(chatbot) also comprising a compute service for performing actions inresponse to the processed conversations. The system further includes anintelligent product catalog system (e.g., Knowledge Work as a ServicePlatform) comprising configuration rules that determine validconfigurations of product catalog options for product solutions. Theintelligent product catalog system automatically publishes at theconversation builder different sets of questions associated with theproduct catalog options. Each set of published questions associated witha different intent. The intelligent product catalog system alsoconfigures the compute service with an interface to the intelligentproduct catalog system. In some embodiments, the configured interfacefrom the compute service to the intelligent product catalog system is anapplication programming interface (API).

The conversation builder receives interaction from a user choosing aproduct solution. Based on matching the user interactions with apublished intent, the conversation builder selects and sends a publishedseries of questions in series to the user. For each sent question, thecompute service forwards the question to the intelligent product catalogsystem to dynamically reconfigure product catalog options related to thequestion. The options are dynamically determined without any customreprogramming of code at the compute service or intelligent productcatalog system. The compute service presents to the user, the questionand remaining product catalog options as option values for answering thequestion. For each answer by the user in response to the sent question,the compute service forwards the answer to the intelligent productcatalog system to dynamically reconfigure product catalog optionsrelated to the sent question. In some embodiments, if remaining productcatalog options only include 1 option, the compute service communicatesto the conversation builder to send a next published question of theseries rather than presenting to the user.

In some embodiments, the conversation builder executes natural languageprocessing to parse and match synonyms to determine non-custom valuesassociated with a question, instead of forwarding the question to theintelligent product catalog system. In some embodiments, the intelligentproduct catalog system automatically publishes a static list of valuesfor at least one of the questions, and the conversation builder sendsthe static list to the user with the question, instead of forwarding thequestion to the intelligent product catalog system. In exampleembodiments, the conversation-based customer support system alsoincludes a web application, such that the web application andconversation engine sharing a user identifier to enable the intelligentproduct catalog system to provide the product catalog options to theuser in both the web application and conversation engine experience. Insome embodiments, the intelligent product catalog system uses the useridentifier to dynamically reconfigure the product catalog optionspersonalized to the user. The conversation-based customer support systemof claim 1 may maintains context throughout the conversation with theuser.

In some embodiments, the configuration rules provide for presenting onlyvalid configurations of product option for the product solution. In someembodiments, the configuration rules provide a budget basedconfiguration analysis such that only the addition of product optionsthat are within a predefined limit are presented or permitted. Thebudget may be based upon at least one of: dimensions, weight,temperature, power consumption, air flow and cost. In some embodiments,the configuration rules provide for presenting or permitting onlyoptions that do not conflict with other options already selected for themultivendor product solution.

In example embodiments, the conversation-based customer support systemalso includes a syndication and publishing system configured tosyndicate at least a portion of the product options from a first catalogwith at least a portion of the product options from a second catalog tocreate syndicated catalogs defined according to the parametric databaseschema. In example embodiments, the conversation-based customer supportsystem further includes a content translator in communication with thesyndication and publishing system, the content translator configured toconvert unstructured content from the first and second catalogs intostructured content using the parametric database schema to create atleast a portion of the product options of the syndicated catalogs.

In some embodiments, the conversation-based customer support system alsoincludes a database repository storing product information according toan object model representing the product information. The object modelincluding parametric objects, graphic objects, document objects,configuration business rules objects and procurement rule objects. Thedatabase uses a metadata system describing the product information, themetadata system dynamically reconfiguring user applications when newproduct types are added to the database. In some embodiments, newconfiguration rules are added without reprogramming the object model.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated inthe accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer tothe same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an overall architecture for implementing anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of components as configured in a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of various ways in which the present inventionis used to provide Web-based customer support.

FIG. 4 an illustration of a Content Translation System configured aspart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the central database repository.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the object model and configuration rules ofthe central database repository.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the reusable objects.

FIG. 8 is an entity-relationship diagram of a schema configuredaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart that includes FIGS. 9A and 9B showing the dataentry, internal QA, authoring, vendor QA, publishing, subscriptionrules, and data push modules that compose content translationfunctionality configured according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a flowchart of the data entry, internal QA,authoring, vendor QA, publishing, subscription rules, and data pushmodules that compose content translation functionality configuredaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are illustrations the data entry, internal QA,authoring, publishing, subscription rule engine, delta data push andsubscription rule modules that compose content translation functionalityconfigured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an end user view of the intelligentmultimedia e-catalog as provided by a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a multimedia display window configuredaccording to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of a hierarchical multimedia display windowconfigured according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart that includes FIGS. 14A and 14B showing the queryengine, style management, market basket guest registration andcustomization modules that compose access and viewing functionalityconfigured according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a flowchart of the query engine, style management,market basket guest registration and customization modules that composeaccess and viewing functionality configured according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C are flowcharts of the query engine, stylemanagement, market basket guest registration and customization modulesthat compose access and viewing functionality configured according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 16A-16E illustrate using the intelligent multimedia e-catalog toprovide conversational-based customer support in embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A description of preferred embodiments of the invention follows. Tosatisfy the business requirements of eCommerce and specifically thenetwork infrastructure products market, the following critical technicalfeatures must be present in an intelligent multimedia e-catalog:

Business Requirement Technical Feature (Problem) (Solution) Electronicmultimedia Intelligent multimedia e-catalogs go catalogs have becomebeyond eBusiness to enable eCommerce the prerequisite for with Global2000 companies. Until now capturing and maintaining suppliers have beenable to deliver second strategic relationships generation productcatalogs which can with the Global 2000 facilitate eBusiness but noteCommerce. companies. eBusiness is best characterized by publishingcorporate and product content over the Web (e.g. “brochureware”) forhuman viewing. ECommerce is enabling transactions over the Web so thatcontent is intelligently structured for access by the procurementexchanges. Vendors lacking intelligent Intelligent e-catalogs with abreadth of e-catalogs are being attributes strongly differentiateproducts reduced to a commodity. in an eCommerce marketplace. Thecatalog must go beyond the classic catalog content of a description ofelements and procurement information (e.g., price, availability,proximity) and provide detailed parametric and technical data for eachproduct. By offering this breadth of attributes suppliers will be ableto fully differentiate their products. Brand identity is beingIntelligent e-catalogs enable vendors to compromised become the onlyauthorized publisher of by unauthorized their content by: contentcreation capturing the complexity of the product and publication.positioning, product family and configuration information, protectingidentity with superior quality assurance using rigorous QA proceduresduring the content development cycle, managing distribution of contentin a timely manner to thousands of sites. Exchanges and Two-way linkingof data is required, other one-stop pulling traffic back to thesupplier's Web. distributor portals are Ideally every place that contentis disabling cooperative distributed to will be a lead generationmarketing. vehicle for pulling viewers back to the supplier. Punchoutlinks and other intelligent hooks should be embedded into the contentand pull end users back to the supplier/vendor site. Lack of intelligentproduct Intelligent multimedia e-catalogs have catalogs will cause afunctionality Intelligence designed in to loss of business with anaccommodate translation/transformation exponentially growing to thelanguages, browser formats and viewing audience. interchange formats ofall market segments for support of a worldwide audience utilizing avariety of access technologies the catalog must support.Internationalization is achieved by supplying content in a variety oflanguages and supporting regionalization issues such as currency andunits of measure. Content is distributed easily from the intelligente-catalog in a variety of traditional formats such as print, CDROM,HTML. In addition, all major Web browsers are supported, including newtechnologies such as wireless. After market considerations Anintelligent multimedia e-catalog must must take into account provide allproduct information required products with long life during the entireproduct life cycle. The cycles, high technical e-catalog must be thecentral repository complexity and for all of the product documentationhigh cost of ownership. needed to design and maintain the product. Thisincludes technical specifications, CAD symbols, installation notes, datasheets, product configuration information and product substitutioninformation. Complex sales process Specialized tools are built into thecatalog affects ability to be to ensure that supplier's products are“designed-in” being “designed-in” during the sales/procurement cycle.These include configuration checking, add on sales analysis tool and upselling analysis tools to increase the probability that thesupplier/vendor products will be designed-in. Additionally, tools tohelp design engineers are provided, including CAD ready symbols anddetailed illustrated catalog descriptions to help engineers design-inthe supplier/vendor products. Complex workflow, complex Intelligentmultimedia e-catalog content products with unique must be developed byexperts in the characteristics, and complex industry domain. Theseexperts must distribution cycles. understand network infrastructureproducts and be intimately knowledgeable of how they are used by designconsultants, channel partners, end users, installers, integrators andother parties involved in designing and maintaining networks.

The present invention provides a multimedia e-catalog havingintelligence designed in, this allows for enriched content which is afoundation for its architecture. The exponentially growing demand forintelligent product data requires a strong IT management strategy thatdesigns flexibility into the content so that it can be translated andintegrated into numerous sites each with different requirements. Withoutcare and consideration given to the design of the data it will becomeunmanageable due to the depth and breadth of information required. Newtechnologies such as XML help manage this complexity by providingtransformations of data into other languages or viewing formats (PDF,HTML, print-ready) on the fly. Some of the design requirements andcritical technologies for an intelligent multimedia e-catalog aredescribed below:

Second Generation Intelligent Feature Catalog Multimedia e-catalogNative Markup HTML XML Language Graphic Format Binary Images Only:Vector Graphics: SVG PDF, GIF, JPEG Binary Images Only: PDF, GIF, JPEGContent Unstructured content. Well-structured content. Structure Productfeatures and Product features and attributes are not attributes arestored in stored in an intelligent an intelligent database. databasestructure. Content Reuse PDF, GIF, JPEG XML facilitates ease formatswhich prevent of reuse with ease of reuse of the simple copy andcontent. Content is paste. Both text human readable only. and graphicsare fully searchable. Content Query Cannot perform All content isaccessible queries on the content. by queries. Transformations/Difficult to implement Numerous Transformations Personalization DesignedIn: Personalization by company, user type Internationalizationpersonalization Accommodates different browser access on the fly (e.g.Wireless). Catalog Catalog is Locked Standalone Catalog Server:Architecture Inside of other Manage Catalog Content Applications: fromone place. Seamless Exchanges, Portals XML integration with otherapplications.

All of the major technology leaders, including Sun Microsystems andMicrosoft, have converted a majority of their products to be XMLalready. XML is seen as a key competitive advantage. Several venturecapitalists see XML as such a major technology that they have formedspecialized funds to back XML startups.

Unlike true commodities, technically complex products (e.g., networkinfrastructure components) require a broad set of attributes to properlydescribe and differentiate their capabilities. The breadth of productattributes required for network infrastructure products include:description, procurement attributes such as: price, availability,proximity, geometry attributes, technical performance attributes,reliability attributes, and hazard/safety attributes. It is criticalthat the e-catalog software and its user interface support this breadthof attributes during both query and display functionality in an easy touse interface.

Flexibility is required to create an unlimited number of productcategories without custom programming. The e-catalog is designed with aunique scheme that can handle any kind of product definition. This isdifferent from other catalogs that require custom programming toincorporate new products with different attributes.

The e-catalog illustrates catalog parts (components) utilizingintelligent vector graphics. Network infrastructure products aretechnically complex, often with many subassemblies and separatelypurchased options. It is not sufficient to show a simple photograph inJPEG format for users to make product decisions. The present inventionprovides a fully illustrated parts catalog showing all of thesubassemblies for a product in an easy to read 3D engineering drawing.

The e-catalog has a flexible and scalable architecture with modularproduct design allowing for a phased implementation. The catalog hasbeen designed to be modular, as a result you can implement youre-catalog solution in phases. Scalable architecture provides long termgrowth. Due to large audiences, the e-catalog has been designed to scaleand provide performance regardless of load or depth and breadth ofcontent. Many suppliers in the eCommerce space have offered attractivesolutions only to obviate the benefits by making critical mistakes inthe architecture design. This has rendered the products useless whenlarge number of users attempt to access the product. More importantly,due to rapidly changing technology, they have missed important shiftssuch as XML which make development extremely efficient and facilitateunprecedented integration between companies.

The e-catalog leverages industry standards to insure ease ofintegration. The e-catalog leverages industry standards from thedatabase layer to the user interface layer. Standards such as SQL areused at the relational database layer. XML is leveraged throughout theproduct to assure long term viability in eCommerce. For vector graphics,SVG the industry standard set by the W3C and is adopted by Adobe, Sunand Microsoft is used.

The present invention captures domain expertise which is key todeploying a useful product. In depth domain expertise in the networkinfrastructure industry includes development of a product catalogcontaining in-depth domain expertise for each product category. This isespecially true of the industries that have very complex products (e.g.,network infrastructure industries). Choosing a supplier that has indepth knowledge insures that the product quality and usefulness will bemaintained. Learning curves and demands from internal staff are alsominimized.

The present invention avoids mistakes made by companies developingonline catalogs. Normalized content assures retrieval of all productsand content, poorly developed content creates inconsistencies innormalizing descriptions and units of measure. When theseinconsistencies creep into the data, available products are often hiddenfrom the customer's view. A well-designed database scheme assures arapid and complete search, designing the database is one of the mostimportant parts e-catalog design. If the information model is poorlydesigned, users will experience poor response times and lack ofusability. The information model must reflect all of the queries that auser could pose to the system. The model must also correctly representthe complex interrelationship between items, for example: what productsare substitutes for each other, how users like to select products andhow users find add-on products.

The present invention incorporates four critical capabilities necessaryto produce an intelligent multimedia e-catalog. These are 1) a criticalmass of applications, 2) affordable “one-stop-shopping service using anASP model, 3) flexible and scalable architecture incorporating standardsthat assure long term growth, and 4) an ability to capture substantialdomain expertise (e.g., networking infrastructure) into well designedand usable product. Conventional systems do not provide a total solutionto the problems faced by complex product suppliers (e.g., networkinfrastructure suppliers). The present invention an intelligentmultimedia e-catalog system capable of addressing the needs of complexproduct suppliers using a flexible and scalable architectureincorporating standards that assure long term growth.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an overall architecture for implementing anembodiment of the present invention. In one preferred embodiment of thepresent invention four major architectural elements are defined: acontent translation system 106, a central database repository 108,applications 109 and access 104. The content translation system 106provides inputting, formatting, editing and converting documents into aformat for storage in central database repository 108. Applications 109run on an applications server to provided access 104 at variousintegration points (e.g., Web browser, mobile devices, otherprogrammatic access). The combination of the defined elements providesfor an intelligent multimedia e-catalog.

Content translation system 106 processes content for complex products(e.g., network infrastructure products) typically developed by industry“domain experts” who have intimate knowledgeable of how content is usedby consultants, channel partners, end users, installers, integrators andother parties involved in designing and maintaining networks. Thepresent invention transforms the suppliers' content from paper, PDF, CADdrawings, and the like into intelligently structured content. Thefoundation of the present invention is structured content in XML format.The present invention uses XML to solve the major problems associatedwith conventional HTML based catalogs, which can only be interpreted bypeople and not computers. Utilizing these technologies, the presentinvention elevates the product content of suppliers' catalogs frombrochureware viewable by people, to transaction ready catalogs foreCommerce computer applications.

Central database repository 108 unlocks the islands of productinformation inside a supplier's business and provides a centralrepository of up-to-date product information that is Web accessible andtransaction ready for computer use. The central database repository 108stores items (e.g., parts/components) using a consistent object modelfor each item. Indices are maintained to improve access and updateperformance. Metadata is also stores, including product rules, businessrules, historical information rules and system configuration rules.

Applications 109 provide capabilities to access central databaserepository 108 to select components, configure products, collaborate ondesign, order components, provide support and manage administration ofthe applications. The applications 109 replace the paper, phone and faxbased communication that currently clog the collaborative sales andprocurement process. A user administration application provides accountmanagement and access control. A scheme application provides schemamaintenance, including the addition, deletion and updating ofattributes.

Access 104 enable instant access in to applications 109 and the centraldatabase repository 108 in any format. The stored content is developedusing XML and can be dynamically changed into a variety of formatsnecessary for eCommerce transactions, data interchange and browseraccess including wireless.

The open systems architecture of the present invention adheres toindustry standards providing for an open systems architecture not proneto obsolescence. The present invention is built to integrate best ofbreed applications servers through J2EE industry standards. Instead ofreinventing the wheel like older Internet based products, the presentinvention's architecture allows for constantly improving applications109. As the applications server market changes users of the presentinvention are free to change with it. The central database repository108 is built around relational database. Database calls are JDBCcompliant allowing the applications 109 to switch databases as needed.No database specific stored procedures or other utilities are requiredfor an implementation of the present invention.

The applications architecture provides for scalability and performanceof the applications 109 over the Internet. In one preferred embodimentthe applications 109 are built using a thin client model. Allapplications 109 can be built to be browser accessible. Suppliers andtheir partners do not require any special applications software on theircomputer or any extensive training on a new user interface in order toaccess applications 109. The applications 109 are built to change asbusiness rules and processes change. The applications architectureprovides for rapid change as the business rules are separate from theapplication code. The present invention therefore provides for rapiddeployment, as no programming is required to make configuration rule,personalization or user security rule modifications. In one preferredembodiment Java-based applications 109 assure reliability, scalabilityand performance over the Internet. Java also assures an open applicationdesign and compatibility with leading hardware and operating systems.

The present invention emphasizes two dynamics of information flow:pushing 140 vendor product messaging out to market (e.g., pushpublication of data) and pulling 142 of information into theapplications 109 (e.g., pull of price, availability information).

The catalog insures that all potential target audiences are reached bythe supplier. The supplier now controls the product positioning andmessaging with using a breadth of attributes. The vendor differentiationis protected by pushing very broad attribute data to the end userpurchasing portals, marketplace exchanges and distributor catalogs.Using subscription agreements and a publishing engine the vendorenforces the freshness and accuracy of data by signing up subscriptionagreements. These agreements allow custom translation interfaces to bedeveloped for each target portal. Distributors and exchanges are nolonger developing content for the supplier.

In all aspects the catalog pulls end users, partners and channelpartners back to the vendor's Web site for complete information.Unparalleled technical documentation, product documentation, uniqueanalysis tools and customer relationship management capabilities makethe site a rich resource for any end user, distributor, or partner.Specialized hyperlinks are embedded in target portals allowing users toquickly “punch out” to the suppliers site for more in-depth information.This protects the vendor's brand and enhances the relationship with theend user. By retrieving price, availability and proximity data fromdistribution partners automated routines allow procurement informationto be retrieved from the supplier's distributors and VARs. This allowsthe end user, consultant or integrator to have a one-stop shoppingportal for the supplier's products.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of components as configured in a preferredembodiment of the present invention. The e-catalog 110 is comprised of acentral database repository 108, applications 109, a syndication andpublishing service 118, reporting engine 116. An interface for Webconferencing and customization/personalization 112 is also provided.

Central database repository 108 stores information for e-catalog 110 andincludes metadata 186 used to describe the data, scheme 180 used todefine entities and relationships inherent in the data and reusableobjects 182 used to represent the data.

Applications 109 include Manage, Select, Order, Collaborate and Support.The Manage application provides user administration functionality whichallows suppliers to create and manage user accounts and profiles.Security allows suppliers to secure their environment by assigning userspermissions and controls for applications and views. Scheme allowschanges to the attributes and objects to be displayed for products.Content Management allows suppliers to add, modify or delete content tothe product repository. The Select application provides a guided salesexperience for end users, sales representatives and channel partners byproviding an intelligent multimedia catalog over the Web. The Selectapplication is designed to accommodate complex products that may havehundreds of attributes, dozens of documents, complex illustrations andconfiguration rules. The product centralizes all product informationrequired in the sales process in a single repository. This allowssuppliers to realize higher sales productivity, drive revenues and takemarket share from competitors by providing correct, up-to-date and easyto understand information on complex products to all of its partners.Select also provides for creating interactive electronic technicalmanuals (IETM). The Order application allows orders to be builtcorrectly the first time, eliminating manual checking and dramaticallyreducing the supplier transaction processing costs per order. Customersatisfaction is improved due to clarity in the order building process.Distribution partners determine product availability, orderconfirmation, pricing confirmation and shipment status over the Web thuseliminating up to 40% of phone queries back to customer servicerepresentatives. The Collaborate application supports both procurementand design collaboration that occurs among the myriad of partners for asupplier. Online procurement collaboration replaces the manual processof assembling paper Requests For Proposal (RFP) and bid specifications.The Support application provides warrantee administration, point of saleanalysis, and configuration management.

The reporting engine 116 tracks user selection criteria and track typesof technologies employed. Typical activity-based access reporting candetect what attributes are being accesses most frequently, but thepresent invention provides user-based access of specific attributes bydetecting that certain users are selecting products using certainattributes (e.g., by color first, then by dimensions). This informationcan then be used by suppliers to optimize the presentation of theirproducts. The reporting engine 116 provides management the ability togain early insight into buying trends. Unlike conventional reportingwhich provides information about users, the present invention providesinformation about user activity. The most popular products and optionscan be identified before purchase or shipment. Management can now seewhat features customers are using to select products.

The syndication and publishing service 118 provides customized contentpresentation for syndication and publishing applications. The centraldatabase repository 108 foundation facilitates ease of data mappingbetween the e-catalog 110 and outside data management systems. The datamapping enables suppliers to export catalog content to the myriad ofdistribution channels, VARs, private exchanges and partners who mayrequire content to drive their portals, catalogs or e-procurement sites.The present invention manages the publication cycle using subscriptionagreements for sending data to, and retrieving data from, suppliers andtheir partners. The present invention creates the necessarytransformation files to convert the excerpted product data into thedesired file formats and standardized descriptions. Delivering data in avariety of formats, at different intervals, removes an enormous burdenfrom marketing and IT staffs overwhelmed with requests.

Web conferencing and customization/personalization 112 provides theability to interactively confer on design, procurement, support andother decisions. By allowing parties to view draft configurations andproposals online feedback and revision cycles are reduced. This allowsfor higher quality products to be design in less time, with fewermistakes. Additionally, customization provides for defining an unlimitednumber of views of data stored in the central database repository 108.Among the various views, some views can be country specific (e.g.,filtering out products inappropriate for specific countries). Otherviews can be user specific, filtering based on user preferences (e.g.,preferences for a specific supplier). By saving the definition of thecustomized views a personalized view can be build and used later. Thisallows suppliers to create views over a catalog; dynamically presentingdifferent content to different users based upon login information. Usercan be targeted with different products to enhance sales campaigns.Geographic markets can be restricted to access only products appropriatefor their markets (e.g., electrical connectivity, import/exportrestrictions, other government regulations, etc.). Data can betransformed on the fly to accommodate internationalization, a variety ofoutput formats (e.g., print, CDROM, HTML pages) and browser support(including wireless) allows companies to reach new markets easier. Viewsalso allow users to personalize and customize their own interface.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of various ways in which the present inventionis used to provide Web-based customer support. A high percentage ofusers leave Web sites because of lack of human interaction. This hurtsboth the selling and support process. With browser-based supportintegrated into the present invention, the e-catalog becomesinstrumental in the day to day selling and support process for both endusers and channel partners. World-wide applications of the Webconferencing capability include: sales conferencing with customers andchannel partners which give the same experience as an onsite visit;higher conversion of browsers into buyers; lower support costs andimproved customer service; and lowers telecommunications expense.Customers and channel partners 152 can now be assisted during theproduct selection, configuration and design process live over the Web.Collaborative sessions can include filling out forms for productselection or highlighting product specification information in whitepapers or technical specifications. The present invention's analysistools can be used online to show the advantages of upgrading orselecting add-on products. By offering a similar experience of beingonsite working with customers over a catalog sales personnel do not haveto travel to visit users or partners on site. Market research shows thata high percentage of browsers leave a Web site before buying. Byoffering an ability to directly contact a sales representative byclicking a button on the e-catalog you can make contact with customersquickly converting browsers into buyers. Customers with supportquestions can select products before contacting support thus reducingthe time spent during the session acquiring customer and productinformation. Product questions are answered quickly since both users areable to view the product information together. Both users are able tomake notations on the web page during the conference. Email, text chatand support call times lead to greatly reduce telecommunicationexpenses. In addition, by providing voice over IP (VoIP) based telephonythese costs are further reduced.

Customer or channel partners 152, as well as suppliers 150 can interactwith e-catalog 110 via various media options, including browser sharing154, text chat 156, phone callback 158 and VoIP chat 160. The e-catalog110 is thus used to provide Web-based customer support.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a Content Translation System configured aspart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The ContentTranslation System converts unstructured content 182 in the form ofpaper-based and 1st and 2nd generation electronic documents intoXML-based structured content 184 for the intelligent multimediae-catalog 110 using scheme 108. The structured content 184 is thenaccessed by design consultants, integrators and end users 186. Thedesign consultants, integrators and end users 186 can then use tools185, such as CAD tools, test tools, network management tools, networkdocumentation tools and asset tracking tools to interact with thestructured data 184 from e-catalog 110.

Early innovators in eCommerce have found that they have to distributetheir content to many as thousands of Web sites per day. Distributors,VARs, installers, partners, design consultants, integrators andoutsourcers all require information, often on a daily basis.Unfortunately, each requires data in their own format which requirestransforming subsets of the content on the fly into various companyspecific formats. The present invention manages the publication cycle bymanaging “Subscription Agreements” for an unlimited number of audiences.The subscription agreement details the required format and frequency ofupdate for each subscriber. A dynamic data retrieval engine for pullingcontent from internal and partner systems, including bidirectional dataupdate is fully facilitated by the present invention. Price,availability and proximity data can be retrieved from distributionpartners and updated in the e-catalog. The present invention fullyaccommodates the numerous custom formats for retrieving information fromsuppliers. A “Retrieval Agreement” details the required format andfrequency of retrieval from each subscriber.

Networking Products have a long life cycle after initial selection andprocurement. There are a large number of documents that end usersrequire for maintenance, monitoring and repair to keep internaloperations up and running for years after the initial installation. Tosupport procurement of replacement parts a fully interactive technicalmanual must be fully integrated with the e-catalog 110. Networkinfrastructure products have extensive documentation necessary duringthe entire life cycle which must be fully cross referenced in thecatalog, including: data sheets, white papers, mechanical drawings,installation notes, specifications, photos and pinout schematics.

Specialized tools for network infrastructure partners, end users andchannel partners are needed. Network infrastructure products are complexwith many subassemblies and options. Users and channel partners bothneed assistance in configuring products. Suppliers face numerous productreturns, up to 15%, due to incorrect configuration. The e-catalog 110content and structure supports three types of configuration: a basicconfigurator; an “upsell” analyzer; and an “add on sell” analyzer. Thebasic configurator insures that the products being selected arecompatible and that the configuration is correct. The “upsell” analyzerillustrates the cost and benefit of “upgrading” the users' productselection to a higher revenue/margin product line (e.g., users can seethe price/performance tradeoffs of selecting 1000BT over 100BT or CAT 7vs CAT 6). The “add on sell” analyzer analyzes a set of selectedproducts for completeness and suggests compatible complementaryproducts. This will suggest add on products for a configuration to theuser or design consultant.

Due to the long life cycle of network infrastructure products, usersrequire information on product discontinuance and substitution options.Often users need to inquire years after the initial purchase in a verymission critical network. Information must be delivered quickly andaccurately. Simple photographs of products do not convey the detailrequired for determining substitutability.

CAD symbols and parametric information are keys to being “designed into”a network. Offering the complete tools necessary for implementation of aproduct is key. Delivery of CAD information by the vendor removesunnecessary time and iterations in the design process. Offering CADsymbols that can be customized on the fly for different CAD Packagessupports all of the segments in the market. The content translationsystem 106 provides the functionality to achieve these benefits.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of the central database repository. Reusableobjects 182 provide a consistent object model for representing productinformation. The content translation process 106 creates reusableobjects of information for every product, so that data is entered onceand transformed many times. This allows the present invention tominimize the amount of data that must be entered to just the essentialelements. Ensuring that an element is entered only once guarantees dataintegrity and minimizes errors resulting from needless repetitive entry.The objects stored in the central database repository 108 comprise fivedifferent types: parametric objects 195, graphic objects 196, documentobjects 197, configuration business rule objects 198, and procurementrule objects 199. The content can be stored in a relational database orlinked file system.

A scheme 180 defines the organization data for fast retrieval and datainterchange by any combination of attributes. The scheme is speciallydesigned to accommodate complex products, which are described byhundreds of attributes, dozens of documents, complex illustrations andesoteric configuration rules. The objects for each part/product arecollected in one central repository built for scalability. As useraccess, content size and computer access grows, performance ismaintained. The scheme 180 enables users to query by any combination ofobjects while providing faster retrieval performance than is offered bytraditional SQL queries.

Metadata 186 eliminates the extensive programming required to customizemost applications. Changes to the metadata 186 in the central databaserepository 108 drive changes to the software eliminating as much as $2spent on customization for every $1 spent on the application. Theinformation model of the central database repository 108 provides forthe addition of unlimited product categories, attributes, configurationrules and multimedia content without any software reprogramming.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the object model and metadata components ofthe central database repository. The object model 188 interacts with theparametric objects, graphic objects, document objects, configurationbusiness rule objects, and procurement rule objects to represent aproduct. Products are made up of parts or components. A bill ofmaterials (BOM) for a product lists its parts. Each part may have a listof accessories (options) for that part. Offering the users accessoriesat design time enhances the chance that the user will purchaseadditional options because of the ease of use and guarantee that theoptions are appropriate.

An important part of the metadata 186 are sets of rules, includingbusiness rules 190, replacement/substitution parts (i.e., history) rules192 and system configuration rules 194. Business rules 190 defineappropriate configurations of products and can detect impropercombinations. For example, when designing a telecommunications closet anequipment cabinet may be required. Since venting of equipment cabinet inorder to reduce heat buildup is required, a fan is typically installedin the cabinet. But, because some fans are only appropriate for topmounting and other are only appropriate for side mounting, the designermust choose the correct type in order for the equipment cabinet toperform properly. Conventionally, a designer would gather thisinformation through past experience, by combing over paper-based catalogspecifications or by making numerous call to the supplier's customersupport staff. The business rules 190 provide for encoding ofconfiguration information such that compatibility checking is doneautomatically.

Replacement/substitution parts rules 192 provide part interchangeinformation. The life cycle of parts is variable. Some parts remainunchanged and in production for years, but others are replaced orupgraded while their previous incarceration are still installed in thefield. An owner who needs to replace a part must be able to find asuitable replacement. Replacement/substitution parts rules 192 providemapping of parts to update/replacement information. This allows existingproducts to be maintained in a timely and effective manner.

System configuration rules 194 specify system-wide constraints forproducts. While individual components within a system might meet allknown requirements, their combination might violate a known system-wideconstraint. For example, while each component within a rack of atelecommunication cabinet might meet all requirements, the combinationof components may prevent the cabinet from interfacing to anotherrequired piece of equipment. System configuration rules 194 providesystem-wide constraints checking. System configuration rules may alsoinclude “budget” rules. Budget rule keep a running total of attributesof the product being added to a system to ensure that certain predefinedthresholds are respected. For example, each product added to a systemhas a specific weight, any one product alone may not exceed thepredefined weight threshold, but the sum of the product weights might.Other thresholds include dimensions, weight, temperature, powerconsumption, air flow, cost and the like.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of the reusable objects. The reusable objects182 include parametric data 195 (e.g., attributes), graphics 196 (e.g.,bitmap and SVG), documents 197 (e.g., XML), configuration data 198 andprocurement data 199. The present invention utilizes central databaserepository 108 to provide a product catalog (multimedia e-catalog 110)that accommodates a broad set of attributes and flexibility in creatingan unlimited number of product categories without custom programming.

FIG. 8 is an entity-relationship diagram of a schema configuredaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. A generic scheme180 (data model) of the present invention allows for the description ofcomplex products with the following features:

Unlimited Number of Product Types: describe any type of product,

Unlimited Number of Attributes: allow storage of an unlimited number ofparametric or text attributes,

Complex Parametric Descriptions: allow for incorporating units ofmeasure (e.g., 5 USD), quantity descriptions (e.g., 5 USD per dozen) andconditions to each parameter (e.g., “on Wednesdays”),

Configuration Rules: store rules for products and product lines. Theserules include knowledge of allowable features per product, optionaladd-ons. The scheme also incorporates knowledge of upselling betweenproduct families (e.g., the cost to upgrade from a 100 Mbs configurationto a 1000 Mbs configuration,

Unlimited Document Types per Product: stores an unlimited number ofdocuments for each product,

Unlimited Multimedia Types per Product: stores an unlimited number ofmultimedia images per product including: JPEG, GIF, SVG vector images,streaming video, etc.

The scheme 180 contains tables and fields for defining attributes of theproduct data as well as links to define the interrelationships betweenthe data. Rule, including triggers are also stored and provideintegrity, access control and security, among other features, for thee-catalog 110 of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a flowchart of the data entry, internal QA,authoring, vendor QA, publishing, subscription rules, and data pushmodules configured according to an embodiment of the present invention.These modules provide support for the Content Translation System.

Module 1, the Data Entry Application 200 provides content enrichment andlinking. It takes as input MS-Word documents, other technical publishingproduct's documents, paper input for transcribing data, RDBMS download,or the like. It outputs a data entry database, in a preferred embodimentthis is an Oracle 8i RDBMS, and files in the data entry scheme. The dataentry database scheme accommodates at least two copies of the same SKU.There can be six, or more, separate content development processesrunning in parallel. The content that must be entered and linked foreach Part (SKU) is described below:

Technical Specifications, Data Sheets, Punchout Installation LinkSymbols Graphics Notes Parametric Data Content Source Custom Custom Editof Word Custom Entry or and Type Development Development ExistingDocuments Download from an Graphics or or Interleaf existing RDBMS. newor Other Development Publishing Product Data Entry General Data AutoCADAutoCAD Technical Parametric Data Application Entry Status Store IGESand DWG convert Publishing Entry Software Screen convert to SVG to SVG.Software (FORM 1) (FORM 2) Additional Converted XML editing to XMLCustomization One per End User Files Content Programmable SubscribersLanguage None Yes Yes Yes None Dependency International- None Yes Yesization

A custom data entry application must be built for each of the customdata entry processes. In addition, a report module must present thestatus of the data entry for each part. A screen will provide a genericformat for entering parametric data. A general data entry status screenprovides a method for linking all of the content together.

SKU # Parametric Type Data Entry 1 Data Entry 2 Compare 1234 PunchoutLink //aaa/bbb/ccc empty NA 1234 Symbols Complete Complete Complete 1234Graphics Complete Empty NA 1234 Technical Specifications, Data Sheets,Installation Notes 1234 Parametric Data Complete Empty NA

Data entry for an SKU will be considered complete when all six types ofcontent have been entered twice and are stored in the database. Theprimary key in the data entry database must accommodate this intentionalredundancy. This will then be turned over to the internal QA module forprocessing.

Module 2, Internal QA 204, provides compare, internal QA, check-in andversion control. It takes as input two copies of content for each SKU.It outputs a single corrected copy of the content for each SKU in thedata entry database scheme. This module has three key functions: 1)compare 2) QA and correction and 3) check-in. The compare functionexecutes a compare of the two copies of content for the SKU, anydifferences will be flagged by this compare utility. The QA andcorrection function allows the QA person to select and create a totallycorrect copy. The redundant copy will be discarded. The check-in andversion control function works on the corrected copy of the data thathas completed the internal QA cycle and will be checked-into a releasearea. The release area is the final stop for data kept in the data entryscheme. This area will have full source code control capability withversioning (equivalent to a PVCS-like system). Any further correctionsto the content must be directed to these files. All prior versions willbe kept under source code control.

Module 3, Catalog Authoring 208, provides catalog authoring. It takes asinput a single corrected copy of the content for each SKU in the dataentry database scheme and outputs a database in the catalog scheme. Thismodule will create a database in the catalog scheme format utilizing thefollowing steps. Custom indexes for the final scheme are created. Acustom indexing strategy is used so that small subsets of data can bekept at the client side. These small subsets would allow users toperform queries quickly without downloading all of the rows from theback-end database. A transform is performed on the Data Entry DatabaseScheme to transform the physical scheme from the data entry databasescheme to the catalog scheme. Some of the content can be stored inOracle 8i (or other appropriate DBMS). Other data will be stored in afile system outside of the DBMS. Links will be created between the datacontent, including all of the links necessary inside and outside of theDBMS. This DBMS and associated file system can reside on a specializedfile server and can be linked to the vendor's website in a seamlessfashion. This module has a start/stop capability. If the processing timeis too long the program will be stopped and allow for an incrementalcompilation capability.

Module 4, Vendor QA 212, provides vendor QA, access rules and finalrelease. It takes as input a database in the catalog scheme and outputscorrected catalog content, access permissions for each user type andvendor style sheet. Vendor QA allows product managers for each productthe ability to provide final approval for publication of content. Thesupplier's product manager will be able to review the content using thecatalog software used by the buyer. Corrections to content andreauthoring are provided. If the product manager encounters any errorsthey can make changes using Module 2. After making corrections in thedata entry database they must repeat the authoring process to create anew copy of the catalog database. Once the content has made it throughthe final vendor QA cycle it is ready to be hosted and linked into thevendor Web site. The vendor can set access rules which govern access todifferent types of content and analysis tools. The vendor will be ableto set access with simple check box using two parameters: user type andcontent/tool type.

Any- But Content/User requires Design Install and Sales, VAR, TypeRegistration Consultant Integration Distributor White Paper X X X XSymbols X Price, X Availability, Proximity CAD Graphics X X Technical XX X specifications, Installation Notes Configuration X X X X Tools

The vendor will be able to change the access rules without having to bean author of the catalog. The vendor will be able to specify the lookand feel of the catalog using vendor style sheet specifications. Thiswill make the product catalog (e-catalog) look consistent with thevendor's corporate Web site. The look and feel of the e-catalog isdescribes using various attributes, including logo and placement,background colors, font size and colors per their corporate style sheet,as well as the use of frames. A predefined set of codes specifyinglanguage type will also be used. The browser type (e.g., MicrosoftExplorer, Netscape Navigator, etc. . . . ) and revision level will bespecified in the header and this will be passed as HTTP data. There isno need to update this in a file since access to this information isavailable during the session.

Module 5, Catalog Publication 216, provide catalog publication and liveconnection to distributor data for price, availability and proximityinformation. It takes as inputs a database in the catalog scheme and Webmethods (e.g., connection to distributor/VAR systems). Module 5 outputsa catalog with distributor data integrated and a file for distributordata updates. This step makes the catalog live. In addition, datasubject to frequent change and specific to distribution partners will bedynamically updated. The vendor must set a file which will govern theupdate process for information from the channel partners, includingspecific attributes, conversion for attributes, frequency of update,default language, DTD mapping, and the like.

Module 6, Subscription Rule Engine 220, provides a subscription rulesengine and takes as input business rules download by subscription typeand a user changes notification profile. It outputs a messaging enginedownload rules file. The subscription model will refer to the rules forsubscription by subscriber type. Based on previous downloads to eachsubscriber, the engine will setup a file which will tell the messagingengine exactly what content to send to whom.

Rules by subscriber identity can be set by the user. There are threetypes of subscribers (channel, exchange and end users). Each subscriberwill complete a subscription form telling the system what type of datathey are interested in. Each subscriber type will have different optionsfor different types of data. End users will be fed updates only for thetype of data to which they are permitted access. Access privileges areset in Module 4 by the vendor. Updates will only be forwarded if theuser has a) previously downloaded an excerpt of this content orb)indicated to the notification manager that they want notices and updatesof changes. Distributors and VARs (channel partners) can select thebreadth (number of parameters and data types) of data they want todownload as well as the depth (number of SKU's) they want to download.Exchanges can also select the breadth (number of parameters and datatypes) of data they want to download as well as the depth (number ofSKU's) they want to download. Each Subscriber will have to indicatetransfer rules, including a file transfer method, a file format and thefrequency of download. For the file transfer method each subscriber willbe able to select eMail, FTP, or the like. ASCII file format settingswill be able to be set including: tab delimited text, standard XMLformat or any proprietary format (e.g., gXML). The frequency of downloadsettings includes a “by time” interval, or a “by change in content”interval, among others. It is expected that large companies will haveproprietary formats which the present invention will provide as a partof its functionality.

Rules by subscriber type can be provided and are set by the vendor.Vendors can set rules for the minimum amount of data that channelpartners and exchanges are allowed to download. This allows them toprotect their differentiation. In addition to all of the standardcontent for each SKU, the vendor can set additional fields for downloadincluding: punchout links, branding marks and time stamps. A punchoutlink back to the supplier hosted catalog can be defined. This link canbe set to the very top of the catalog or to be a specific SKU in thecatalog. The vendor can insert a branding mark for each row in thedistributor or exchange catalog noting that this is “authorizedcontent”. Additionally, the vendor can force the display of a time stampfor the data making sure that the freshness of data is enforced at thetarget web site.

Rules by time of download are also provided. The breadth and depth ofcontent to be downloaded will also be a function of prior downloads andthe extent of revisions in the catalog. For the first time the catalogis published the subscription engine will send a full copy of therequested subset to each distributor, VAR or end user. The first time aVAR, distributor, or exchange requests a copy the subscription enginewill send a full copy of the requested subset to each VAR, distributor,exchange. For all updates following the initial update to a VAR,distributor or exchange the subscription engine will send a full copy ofthe requested subset to each VAR, distributor, or exchange. The firsttime an end user requests an update on a downloaded document thesubscription engine will see if there have been any changes for theentire document, symbol or CAD drawing. If there has been any changethen the newly revised entire document, symbol or CAD Drawing will besent. Documents will have change bars noting where changes haveoccurred.

Module 7, Change Notification Engine 224, is a change notificationengine which takes subscription rule user profiles, date and time, andnew content publications (triggers) as input. It outputs a list ofnecessary updates for distribution. This module is a daemon which runscontinually in the background. It monitors the required frequency ofupdates for each subscriber which is stored in the subscription ruleuser profiles and the most recent delta changes to the e-catalog. Whenthere is a change in the e-catalog that affects an area that asubscriber requires for download then the module determines if it istime to send this change. For example, when subscribers want weeklyupdates, one e-catalog update can occur on Day 3. Since this change isbefore the required update cycle the change will be held until the clockregisters a full week from the last update. If another update occurs onDay 4, then both updates will be forwarded when the clock registers afull week.

Module 8, Data Push Engine 228, provides a data push engine and takes asinput a list of necessary updates for distribution, and eMail addressesfrom the subscription rule engine. It outputs a downloaded file to eachsubscriber. The subscription model will refer to the file produced byModule 7 and download information to each subscriber.

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are illustrations the data entry, internal QA,authoring, publishing, subscription rule engine, delta data push andsubscription rule modules configured according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Module 1, Data Entry Application 200 and Module 2, Internal QA 204provide a series of steps to gather content from various mediacombinations, including parametric data and SVG file. The content isimported, converted and pushed to a raw entry database 240.

Module 3, Catalog Authoring 208, Module 4, Vendor QA 212, and Module 5,Catalog Publication 216 generate a catalog database 250 and distributionrule, user and subscription database 260 from raw entry database 240,smart symbol library 242 and content publication 244.

Module 6, Subscription Rule Engine 220, Module 7, Change NotificationEngine 224, and Module 8, Data Push Engine 228 manage getting contentdata out of the e-catalog 110 system. Specifically, the changenotification engine 224 interacts with distribution rule, user andsubscription database 260 and catalog database 250 to push data to userportal 270, user system 272 and distributor/VAR enterprise systems 274.

An intelligent product catalog system for electronic creation,management and viewing of the product scheme uses a multimedia displaysystem including an electronic text window 300 linked to an electronicgraphics window 310. The software navigates views of the productinformation within the electronic text window and electronic graphicswindow. The query engine of this e-catalog 110 provides unprecedentedflexibility. Users can add new product types and attributes per producttype without having to reprogram the software. The custom indexingscheme 180 provides for unprecedented speed. XML technology allowsinteroperability and intelligent graphic objects provide for showingtheir hierarchical decomposition into Bill of Materials or features.

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an end user view of the intelligentmultimedia e-catalog as provided by a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention. The e-catalog 110 illustrates catalog parts utilizingintelligent vector graphics. Network infrastructure products aretechnically complex, often with many subassemblies and separatelypurchased options. It is not sufficient to show a simple photograph inJPEG format for users to make product decisions. The present inventionprovides a fully illustrated parts catalog showing all of thesubassemblies for a product in an easy to read 3D engineering drawing.The 3D vector graphics are fully intelligent and linked inside of thecatalog. Selecting a “hot link” 312 on the drawing will bring up all ofthe product details on the separate subassembly part including its SKUnumber and associated technical documentation. This makes the e-catalog110 ideal for design, procurement and service applications throughoutthe product life cycle.

The view allows for configuration of systems composed of products havingcomponents. For example, a telecommunications cabinet (system) may bemade up of various routers, power supplies and interconnect cables(products), the power supply may be made up of a switch, a fuse, a powersource and a power cable (components). This hierarchical design providesfor an infinite variety of system, product and component configurations.As components are added to the system the electronic graphics window 310is re-rendered to show the added component. Additionally, 3D animationsprovide for views of working components (e.g., a cabinet door openingand closing). The view also displays units (e.g., dimensions, costs,weights) along with a process for converting among variousrepresentations of the units (e.g., inches, feet, meters, etc.). Theview presentation is configurable as to which attributes are shown, andin what order.

Systems, product and components also have options, options providedifferent versions of a specific system, product or component. Forexample, a telecommunications cabinet may provide the option of having atop venting fan, a bottom venting fan, or a side venting fan.

The view also allows for “add-on” products to be displayed andconfigured into the system being designed. Add-on products arecomplementary or other associated products that may be of interest to adesigner working with a specific product. For example, a glass cleaningproduct may be offered along with a telecommunication cabinet havingglass door enclosures.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are a flowchart of the query engine, style management,market basket guest registration and customization modules that composeaccess and viewing functionality configured according to an embodimentof the present invention.

Module 1, Style Management provides a style manager that takes as inputa language, a browser type and a vendor style. It outputs a style sheet.When the vendor's Web site or exchange invokes the e-catalog it mustupdate the e-catalog style sheet. The rules for the update are specifiedin Module 4 for the Content Translation System.

Module 2, Query 354, provides a query engine that, if invoked from anexchange will accept a specific part query and output a market basket.FIG. 12 illustrates of a multimedia display window for the query engine.A top level SVG 340 displays a product component and product componentelement descriptions 342. As the end user mouses over different elementsof the top level SVG 340 the SVG element description 342 will change. Aclick on any of the SVG links in the top level SVG 340 takes the enduser to the next screen of the individual assembly. Various windownavigation steps are detailed below:

Bring up Main Bring up Main Window (Get stuff from Get class items fromLevel1 Window with Level One Description Table) Description (Get allClass ID, Contents Initialized Media, Technology and description.(Select * from Level1Description) Fetch the SVG for main graphics andFetch the SVG file according to corresponding Media, Technology and theSVGFileURI field value in the description combination record. CreateSplit window Put Drawings on Combine the record and SVG file Left andText Description on Right contents into and generate a html and XMLcombination with JavaScript to handle the change of SVG graphicsaccording to media and technology selection by the user in the pull downcombo box. - Handle on select event of the html combo. SVG should beembedded into the html Handle the mouse over of the SVG elements to showthe description of each part on the right-hand pane. Change Main If PullDown Selectors changed then (see above) Window change window Change theClassID's in the Pull Down for this Technology and Media Setting. Getgraphics from SVG graphics table.

An illustration of a hierarchical multimedia display window is providedin FIG. 13. A document window 320 displays an SVG rendition of a productcomponent, various documents associated with the product component canbe accessed and the display can be zoomed. Additionally, bill ofmaterials (BOM) and add-on information can be obtained. An expanded textwindow 322 provides an SKU listing with filtering and sorting. Clickingon an SKU list item changes the SVG display and the corresponding BOMlist. Contents in the SKU list can be sorted using sorting bar 328according to headings. Sub-product headings 324 and parameter headings326 provide for a hierarchical listing capability. A BOM list 330provides for clicking on an item to highlight the part on the SVGdisplay of the whole assembly.

Navigation Action Description of Actions Pseudo Code If Item ClassSelected GET ROWS FOR ALL SKU's GET ROWS FOR ALL SKU's and then presentall items corresponding documentation and SVG for class selectedgraphics. Select * from Component c, ComponentDocuments cd Wherec.ProdClassID = L1Description.ProdClassID and cd.ComponentID =c.ComponentID GET BIG HEADINGS FROM GET BIG HEADINGS FROM ALLOWEDCOMPONENTS ALLOWED COMPONENTS Select Big Heading from Allowed Componentswhere Language = <Language> and CLASSID in (Select PRODUCTCLASSID fromLEVEL 1DESCRIPTION where MgrCLASSID = PRODCLASSID) GET SUBHEADINGS FROMGET SUBHEADINGS FROM ALLOWED PARAMETERS ALLOWED PARAMETERS AND ANDPARAMETER DISPLAY PARAMETER DISPLAY Select SubHeading from ParameterDisplay where Parameter ID in (Select ParameterID from ALLOWEDPARAMETERS where CLASS ID in (Select PRODUCTCLASSID from LEVEL1DESCRIPTION where MgrCLASSID = PRODCLASSID) and Displayable=True andLanguage = <language> GET Parametric Data for Rows Select * fromParameter where (Comp Key =<> and ParameterID in (See Prior Query)) or(Comp Key =<> and ParameterID in (See Prior Query)) or ... à for all thecomponents selected from the component table. First Row is DefaultSelectable in SKU Listing. Combine and arrange the whole contents intoan XML combined with XSL, HTML and JavaScript to produce the requiredGUI and event handling.

Navigation inside the window, once beyond the main window is provided inthe following manner:

Navigation Action Description of Actions Pseudo Code Move Cursor to newSKU in Update SVG for Document Handle the mouse over event of ExpandedText Window Window the sku links. Change the contents Update Combo BoxOptions for of the BOM through JavaScript Document Window code and fillit with new values Update BOM for BOM retrieved from the XML lying onWindow- Highlight First Row in the client side. BOM Window Select HotLink on SVG Highlight Associated Item/SKU Handle the onClick, retrievethe Graphic in Document (if applicable) in BOM Window Component ID valuefrom the Window Color Hotlink SVG, find it in the BOM list andhighlight. Select New Document from Update Document Window Handle theOnSelect event of the Document Pull Down in with New Document for SKUlist and update the Document Document Window CurrentlyHighlighted/Selected window in Expanded Text Window Select Item from BOMHighlight Associated Hotlink Get the input(ID) from the BOM Window forItem/SKU (if applicable) in list selection event and highlight DocumentWindow in the SVG Select Button on Item/SKU in Open Child Window whichis Same queries as explained above BOM Window to get details of sameformat as top window but for Sub Assembly Put Level + 1 in Expanded TextThe component ID changes Window for headings of this Sub The querycarried to the server Note: This is envisioned to Assembly Type. so thatthe resulting contents in the be a Field Service Application Load inSKU's matching the new window will be according to where someone wantsquery criteria of prior Parent it. specific documentation on a Windowinto Expanded Text replacement sub module of a Window. e.g. ONLY ONEspecific product PART. Put CAD of Level +1 Subassembly in DocumentWindow Update BOM for BOM Window Highlight First Row in BOM Window HitBig Header Col Span Open Child Window which is Same as above Button inExpanded Text of same format as top window Window Put Level + 1 inExpanded Text Window for headings of this Sub Note: This performs sameAssembly Type. action as above. No new Load in SKU's matching the codeshould be needed. In query criteria of prior Parent each case thesoftware Window into Expanded Text inherits the criteria of the Window.E.g. if parent window prior query set. had only copper, LAN Patch Panelsand a Filter by 24 ports then only subassemblies for all of these partswill be shown. Put CAD of Level +1 Subassembly in Document Window UpdateBOM for BOM Window Highlight First Row in BOM Window Pull Down changedfrom Find Add Ons for specific SKU Handle the onselect event of the BOMto Add Ons Display Add Ons in Document BOM/Add-On combo. Window asgraphics of a Update SVG from the XML different color e.g. red andcontents catched on the client side. standard parts are black DisplayHotlinks with hotlink for first addon colored Display text descriptionsin BOM Window for Add Ons. Highlight the first row. Select Item forMarket Basket Prompt for Quantity Check if the user is a registeredConfirm Putting into Market user. Basket If not prompt the registrationform. After update the market basket or else directly update the marketbasket through JavaScript i.e. maintain the market basket on the clientside till he saves. Provide option for save now or later. In case ofsave now contact to a server component to store and maintain marketbasket for the client Change Language Selection Change Language of BigCall to server side with language Header code and ClassID on selectionof Change Language of Small Language-Code from the combo. Header Handlethe on-select event of the Change Language of Text Cells combo-box.Change Language of Units of Measure Change Language of BOM Window Note:assume no text in SVG Graphics Display Change Text in Document Window IfDocument other than SVG Graphics selected Select Sort by Column Sort AllRows by ascending or Apply style sheet to the XML data Headingdescending selection of that row. using Jscript and rearrange the dataand the Extended-Text window. Select Filter by Column TAB 1: PresentSelect Distinct Generate XSL on the client using Heading of all ValuesSorted in Jscript and apply it to the XML Ascending Order data to updatethe Extended-Text TAB 2; Allow Filter by window. Wildcards (Single Char,Multiple Char) TAB 2: Allow Filter by Ranges of numbers Resize VerticalFrame CLIPS OR RESIZES THE Automatically handled by the SeparatingDocument and GRAPHICS WINDOW? browser. Expanded Text Window SHOWSWHITESPACE IF DOCUMENT WINDOW LARGER THAN GRAPHIC Resize HorizontalFrame CLIPS OR RESIZES THE Automatically handled by the SeparatingDocument and GRAPHICS WINDOW? browser. BOM Window SHOWS WHITESPACE IFDOCUMENT WINDOW LARGER THAN GRAPHIC Resize Total Window Automaticallyhandled by the browser.

Module 3, Market Basket 358, generates a market basket by taking aselected part from the query results screen and a list of parts (such asa BOM) as input. The market basket is a simple list of SKU's for aspecific vendor. This market basket is used for analysis by theconfiguration tools or as a method to drive the download of extensiveinformation per part.

Module 4, Guest Registration 362, provides guest registration. It takesas input the access permissions per each user type (described in Module4 for the Content Translation System 106) and outputs a list of knownregistered users. This module checks the users name and designated usertype against a list of known registered users. If the person is notregistered then they will be prompted to register. The registration formis then forwarded to the vendor for approval. The vendor will have toupdate the list of known registered users. For each new user registeredby the vendors an eMail will be forwarded to user alerting them thatthey have been updated. If the user is registered then it checks to seeif the type of download or tool access is permitted for this user type.If the user is not permitted to use the download or configuration toolthey will receive a message denying access and then pushed back to thequery module.

Module 5, Configuration 366, provides configuration by taking thecontents of the market basket and outputting a final list of configuredcontents to be handed off to the channels or stored for future use. Thismodule completeness, correctness, upsell comparisons and add-onsuggestions. To complete the assembly that the user is intending tobuild, the system suggests the remaining parts(subassemblies/assemblies) which are required and are not yet selectedby the user. The system will check for the compatibility of theassemblies selected and suggest assemblies that are more efficient, havemore features and/or have a better fit to the selected assemblies. Thisprocess references the product family attributes in the database.Related add-on products are suggested to complement the selectedproducts, this process will reference the complements attribute in thedatabase.

Module 6, Customization 370, provides customization and takes as inputthe contents of the Market basket. It outputs formatted technicaldocuments and triggers to the notification engine. For customization ofthe downloads the end user makes a selection of the documents needed(all or selected documents) and selection of excerpts needed if notwhole document. Additionally, the end user makes a selected outputformat, if the option is available. After the selections and download ofdocuments by the end user, the customization module sends a trigger tothe notification engine for the first time download and gets thenotification activated.

Module 7, Change Notification Engine 224, provides a notification enginewhich takes as input a trigger from end user download customization ordata subscription by distributors/VARs. Its outputs include new endusers, distributors/VARs or market exchanges being added to thenotification list with rules built in. The notification engine triggersthe event for notifying the buyer while he is doing the downloads of thecontent if the supplier has pushed the updates to the end users. Thisfeature is made possible when the user has requested this functionalitywhile registering in the Module 4 above. FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C areflowcharts of the query engine, style management, market basket guestregistration and customization modules that compose access and viewingfunctionality configured according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Module 1, Style Management 350 and Module 2, Query 354 provide a seriesof displays for product information. Initially a user interacts with ascreen 370 to request information from the e-catalog 110. A main SVGdisplay 340 is displayed and is transformed into a display of SVGdocument window 320 and expanded text window 322.

Module 3, Market Basket 358, Module 4, Guest Registration 362 and Module6, Customization 370 provide a series of interactions with the marketbasket of product components. A user adds item to the market basketusing screen 374. The user interacts with user registration form 376 inorder to activate a user account. Additional items (SKUs) are addedusing screen 378. The market basket is provided to download orconfigurator tools using screen 380. Upon document download usercustomization of download format, including smart symbol download isprovide using screen 382. In the case of smart symbol download thesymbol styler 384 fetches symbol library data. Downloadsymbols/documents 386 and URLs for download 390 fetch documents from thecatalog database 250. Finally, the configurator 392 fetches the assemblyhierarchy.

FIGS. 16A-16E illustrate using the intelligent multimedia e-catalog ofthe present invention to provide conversational-based customer support.Gartner predicts that by 2020 85% of customer interactions will bewithout a human agent and that chatbots (conversational engines) willreplace over 90% of customer applications. Chatbots and conversationalinterfaces are simple and not to be underestimated in terms of theirpower. A chatbot has no new UI to learn and a user does not need tofirst review a user interface to make a selection using a chatbot. Incontrast, in traditional web application, user interfaces are difficult.The user must find the app, sign in, learn the UI, review potentiallyhundreds of inputs on the screen before making a selection. With achatbot, a user can take action within seconds without requiring alearning curve or confusion as to where to click.

However, today's chatbots have various issues that prevent use inproviding dynamic conversational-based customer support. First, chatbotshave limited memory or context to support a dynamic dialog. Typically,chatbots cannot hold contextual information for longer than a few chatbubbles, and lose the content of a conversation with a user before theuser poses a complete set of questions. As shown in FIG. 16D, the userasks a chatbot for restaurant recommendations in San Francisco, but afew chat bubbles later, when the user requests a sushi restaurant, thechatbot no longer recalls the user's location as San Francisco. Second,chatbots must be configured with questions in a fixed order and with aset of fixed answers that cannot be changed based on prior answers. Inorder for the chatbot to skip certain questions requires theimplementation of a substantial amount of code in the chatbot. Third,the chatbot lacks the functionality to personalize an implementedconversation based on different users. Fourth, configuring (populating)the content of the chatbot is manual, and, thus, for high complexitytasks very labor intensive. Fifth, the ability to manage web and chatcontents for the same application requires two independent efforts.

Embodiments of the present invention improve a chatbot, thereby creatinga knowledge bot that provides dynamic conversational-based customersupport. This improved chatbot utilizes the functionality of theintelligent multimedia e-catalog (e.g., Knowledge Work as a servicePlatform) of the present invention, which enables the chatbot to havethe intelligence of best experts to advise and make recommendationsrelated to a particular product or application, as well as perform rulesbased administrative tasks. Further, the improved chatbots can keepcontext in a conversation with a user, including remembering prior partsof the conversation to use in downstream responses. As the conversationcontinues, the response (questions) by the chatbot may be dynamicallydetermined (without reprogramming of code) by the intelligent multimediae-catalog to keep context in the conversation with the user, rather thanbased on questions in a fixed order and with a set of fixed answers thatare hard-coded into the chatbot. The response may also be dynamicallydetermined (without implementation of code) by the intelligentmultimedia e-catalog to provide different responses for different users.In addition, the infrastructure of embodiments of the intelligentmultimedia e-catalog enables transferring customer (user) interactionbetween the improved chatbot and web-based customer support.

FIG. 16A illustrates the architecture of a traditional chatbot, whichincludes a chatbot conversational interface 604, a gateway 606, acomputer service 608, and a conversation builder 610. An end user 605interacts with the chatbot through the chatbot conversational interface604, which transmits the interaction through the gateway 606 and thecompute service 608 to a conversation builder 610. The conversationbuilder 610 is a service for building and processing conversations thatare integrated into any application using voice and text. In particular,conversations are built by providing to the conversation builder 610 thetypes of conversations (intent) supported for a particular application,such as conversations to select a product from a vendor application. Aparticular type of conversation (intent) may be represented as a tableof synonyms. The conversations are further built by providing to theconversation builder 610 the questions (slots) that a user must completeto conduct a particular type of conversation and any values for thequestions (slot types). The slot types may be standard (non-custom),where the conversation builder 610 uses natural language processing tomatch a word of an interaction to an entry in the synonyms table todetermine a slot type. The slot types may also be custom where a staticlist of legal values are provided for the slot.

When the to the conversation builder 610 receives an initial interactionof a user conversation, the conversation builder 610 uses naturallanguage processing to match a conversation type (intent) and retrievethe series of questions (slots) that a user must complete for theconversation. The conversation builder 610 proceeds to transmit eachretrieved question (slot) and values (slot types) to the user based onthe response of the user to a previous question. The conversationbuilder 610 may also provide events to the compute service 608, and thecompute service 608 runs common generic code (e.g., Python, Java, andsuch) in response to the events to take actions related to the slots.The compute service 608 may be implemented with code for each differentconversation type (intent), questions (slocs), values (sloe types), andsuch. The compute service 608 also automatically manages the computeresources required by the code. The compute service 608 transmits eachquestion from the conversation builder 610, via the gateway 606, to thechatbot conversation interface 604 for presentation and answer by theend user 602.

FIG. 16B illustrates integrating the intelligent multimedia e-catalogwith the chatbot architecture to provide dynamic conversational-basedcustomer support by an improved chatbot (knowledge bot). Unlike priorchatbot solutions that build a tree or stack to keep state of a userconversation, the intelligent multimedia e-catalogue tracksquestion-to-question interdependencies to keep state of the userconversion. As part of the integration, the intelligent multimediae-catalog (e.g., Exalt Knowledge Work as a Service Platform (KWaaS) 622)builds the conversation builder 610 by publishing questions (slots)needed for each conversation type (intent) of an application and values(slot types) as appropriate. For example, the KWaaS 622 may publishquestions related to product catalog options for a particular type ofproduct solution and corresponding appropriate values for the productcatalog options. For standard (NON CUSTOM) slot types and static custom(STATIC CUSTOM VALUE) slot types, the KWaas 622 configures naturallanguage processing matching with synonyms. For dynamic custom (DYNAMICCUSTOM VALUE) slot types, the KWaaS 622 configures a chat applicationprogramming interface (API) to be executed by the compute service 608 tocall KWaaS 622.

The improved chatbot functions are similar to the traditional chatbot asdescribed in FIG. 16A, except in the case of dynamic custom slot typevalues. In this case, the conversation builder 610 provides dynamic slottype events to the compute service 608, and the compute service 608calls KWaaS 622 as an API 614 with the slot. Based on the slot, KWaaS622 dynamically reconfigures/auto populates the application information(e.g., product information if the conversation is regarding a product ofa vendor application). The KWaaS 622 further returns to the computeservice 608, via the API 614, the surviving values for slot types forthe application after the reconfiguration, or if automated selected(narrowed to one value) returns a skip or statement in place of the slottype. In the case of returning surviving values, the compute service 608transmits the slot and the surviving slot type values, via the gateway606, to the chatbot conversation interface 604 for presentation andanswer by the end user 602. In the case of returning a skip orstatement, the compute service 608 notifies the conversation builder 610to proceed to the next slot (question). By the compute service 608calling KWaaS 622 via API 614 (and the KWaaS 622 dynamicallyreconfiguring the application information), the compute service 608 neednot implementation (i.e., not custom reprogram) code at the computeservice 608 (or KWaaS) to attempt to provide similar functions.

Further, as part of the integration, KWaaS 622 generates an identifier(instance) 616 specific to the conversation with the end user 602. Theidentifier 616 may be used commonly to allow the user to simultaneouslymanage the content for web (e.g., as displayed parameters and parametervalues) via the web API 612 and chat (e.g., as slots and slot types) viachat API 614 in the same conversation (or switch between the two basedon which interface is better suited for a particular point in theconversation). For example, the web may be more suited when moredetailed information is being provided on a product in a vendorapplication. In additional, the identifier may be used to identifydifferent end users and dynamically reconfigure the information (e.g.,product information) in a manner personalized to the current end user602.

FIG. 16C illustrates sequence for performing an improved chatbotconversation for dynamic conversational-based customer support. Theconversation sequence is described in reference to Example Interaction 1of FIG. 16E.

The conversation sequence of FIG. 16C begins with the end user 602initiating a conversation to purchase a server from a vendor applicationwith the communication “I want to purchase a server” of FIG. 16E. Thechatbot conversation interface transmits the communication, via thecompute services 608, to the conversation builder 610. In FIG. 16C, theKWaaS 622 previously configured the conversation builder 610 byautomatically publishing slots for different conversations (intents)related to products of a vendor application, including server products,and also published slot types (non-custom, static custom, and dynamiccustom) for the published slots. At step 630, the conversation builder610 uses natural language processing to parse the initial interaction(“I want to purchase a server”) and match in a synonym table todetermine the intent. Based on the intent, the conversation builder 610retrieves the series of questions (slots) that must be posed to theuser.

At step 640, the conversation builder 610 then sends back the firstquestion of the series (“What application do you want to run” of FIG.16E) with a non-custom slot type. The compute service 608 determines theslot type is not a dynamic custom type, and at substep 2B sends thefirst question to the user. Alternatively, if it was a dynamic customtype, the compute service 608 at substep 2B, via chat API 614, wouldhave instead sent it to KWaaS 622. Then, KWaaS would have proceeded todynamically reconfigure/populate the available server information basedon the slot, and determine if the reconfiguration narrowed slot types to1 answer. If yes, KWaaS at substep 2A, via chat API 614, would havecommunicated to the compute service 608 to go to next question. If yes,KWaaS at substep 2B, via chat API 614, would have communicated to thecompute service 608 to send the returned slot types from thereconfiguration to the user 602 (via the chatbot conversationalinterface).

At step 650, the user 602 (via the chatbot conversational interface)then answers “Oracle Database” of FIG. 16E, which is transmitted to thecompute service 608 (which further sends, via chat API 614, to the KWaaSfor reconfiguring the available server information based on the answer.The answer is further transmitted to the conversation builder 610, whichin response retrieves the 2^(nd) (slot) question (“How many virtualCPU's do you think you will require” of FIG. 4E, and further retrievesthe static custom sloc types for this slot (“8, 16, or 32”). If the slotwas not a custom slot type, then the conversation builder 610 would usenatural language processing to parse and match synonyms. Then, step 660proceeds similar to step 640 in sending back the 2^(nd) question to theuser (without calling KWaaS as this is not a dynamic slot type).

At step 670 again, the user 602 (via the chatbot conversationalinterface) then answers “32” of FIG. 16E, which is transmitted to thecompute service 608 (which further sends, via chat API 614, to the KWaaSfor reconfiguring the available server information based on the answer.The answer is further transmitted to the conversation builder 610, whichretrieves the 3^(rd) (slot) question on memory choices, which has adynamic slot type. Then at step 660, the compute service 608 determinesthe slot type is a dynamic custom type, and at substep 2A, via chat API614, sends the slot to KWaaS 622. Then, KWaaS 622 dynamicallyreconfigures the available server information based on the slot, anddetermines that the reconfiguration narrows the dynamic slot values totwo (“8 GB” and “16 GB”). Thus, KWaaS at substep 2B, via chat API 614,communicates to the compute service 608 the two returned dynamic slottype values from the reconfiguration, and the compute service 608 sendsthe slot and slot type values to user 602 (via the chatbotconversational interface). The conversation with the chatbat proceeds inthis manner until the user is returned a web link to details on arecommended solution, which may execute the website using the sameidentifier as the chat conversation to display the current configuredserver information from the KWaaS 622.

Interaction 2 of FIG. 16E illustrates another conversation performedbased on the conversation sequence of FIG. 16C (via the improvedchatbot).

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreferences to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the scope of the inventionencompassed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. The conversation-based customer support system ofclaim 22, further comprising: the application server having at least onecomputer processor implementing a computational conversation-basedcustomer support system via a gateway computing system by executing: aconversation engine coupled to the conversational interface providingdynamic computer based conversational support, the conversation enginecomprising: a conversation builder for building and processingconversations with a user based on intent, and a compute servicecomputing system for performing actions in response to the processedconversations; an intelligent product catalog system comprisingconfiguration rules that determine valid configurations of productcatalog options for product solutions, the intelligent product catalogsystem: (i) automatically publishes at the conversation builderdifferent sets of questions associated with the product catalog options,each set of published questions associated with a different intent, and(ii) configures the compute service computing system with an applicationprogramming interface (API) to the intelligent product catalog system; aconversation builder receiving interaction from a user deciding on aproduct solution, and based on matching the user interactions with apublished intent, selecting and sending a published set of questions tothe user; and for each sent question, the compute service computingsystem forwarding the question to the intelligent product catalog systemto dynamically reconfigure product catalog options related to thequestion, the compute service computing system presenting to the user,the question and remaining product catalog options as values foranswering the question.
 2. The conversation-based customer supportsystem of claim 1, further comprising: for each answer by the user inresponse to a sent question, the compute service forwarding the answerto the intelligent product catalog system to dynamically reconfigureproduct catalog options related to the sent question.
 3. Theconversation-based customer support system of claim 1, wherein theconfigured interface from the compute service to the intelligent productcatalog system is an application programming interface (API).
 4. Theconversation-based customer support system of claim 1, wherein theconversation builder executes natural language processing to parse andmatch synonyms to determine non-custom values associated with aquestion, in conjunction with forwarding the question to the intelligentproduct catalog system.
 5. The conversation-based customer supportsystem of claim 1, wherein the intelligent product catalog systemautomatically publishes a static list of values for at least one of thequestions, and the conversation builder sends the static list to theuser with the question, in conjunction with forwarding the question tothe intelligent product catalog system.
 6. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 1, wherein if remaining product catalogoptions only include 1 option, the compute service communicates to theconversation builder to send a next published question of the seriesrather than presenting the option to the user.
 7. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 1, further including a web application,the web application and conversation engine sharing a user identifier toenable the intelligent product catalog system to provide the productcatalog options to the user in both the web application and conversationengine experience.
 8. The conversation-based customer support system ofclaim 1, intelligent product catalog system uses the user identifier todynamically reconfigure the product catalog options personalized to theuser.
 9. The conversation-based customer support system of claim 1,wherein the question values are dynamically determined without anycustom reprogramming of code at the compute service or intelligentproduct catalog system.
 10. The conversation-based customer supportsystem of claim 1, wherein the intelligent product catalog systemmaintains context throughout the conversation with the user.
 11. Theconversation-based customer support system of claim 1, wherein theconfiguration rules provide for presenting only valid configurations ofproduct option for the product solution.
 12. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 1, wherein the configuration rulesprovide a budget based configuration analysis such that only theaddition of product options that are within a predefined limit arepresented or permitted.
 13. The conversation-based customer supportsystem of claim 1, wherein the budget is based upon at least one of:dimensions, weight, temperature, power consumption, air flow and cost.14. The conversation-based customer support system of claim 1, whereinthe configuration rules provide for presenting or permitting onlyoptions that do not conflict with other options already selected for theproduct solution.
 15. The conversation-based customer support system ofclaim 1, further comprising a syndication and publishing systemconfigured to syndicate at least a portion of the product catalogoptions from a first catalog with at least a portion of the productoptions from a second catalog to create syndicated catalogs definedaccording to the parametric database schema.
 16. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 15, further comprising a contenttranslator in communication with the syndication and publishing system,the content translator configured to convert unstructured content fromthe first and second catalogs into structured content using theparametric database schema to create at least a portion of the productcatalog options of the syndicated catalogs.
 17. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 1, further comprising a databaserepository storing product information according to an object modelrepresenting the product information, the object model includingparametric objects, graphic objects, document objects, configurationbusiness rules objects and procurement rule objects.
 18. Theconversation-based customer support system of claim 17, wherein thedatabase uses a metadata system describing the product information, themetadata system dynamically reconfiguring user applications when newproduct types are added to the database.
 19. The conversation-basedcustomer support system of claim 17, wherein: the configuration rulesbeing stored according to a hierarchy by: storing information onsub-products that a product is comprised of, including storing productpart replacement information; storing product accessories that can beadded to a product; storing rules for the product solution thatincorporates product information stored in the database; or storingrules for equivalence or substitution of products for use when buildinga product solution.
 20. The conversation-based customer support systemof claim 1 further comprising enabling the user to answer the questionsin any order; and wherein new configuration rules are added withoutreprogramming the object model.
 21. (canceled)
 22. A computerimplemented conversation-based customer support system comprising: aconversation builder configured to enable a conversational interface toprovide dynamic computer based conversational support in response to aquestion by transmitting at least one of values as a dynamic slot typeevent to the compute service computing system via an applicationprogramming interface (API); a compute service computing systemconfigured to respond to the receipt of the dynamic slot type event byreconfiguring the gateway with a dynamic slot value corresponding to thedynamic slot type event and the question, such that the compute servicecomputing system dynamically auto populates the application informationprogramming interface (API) with the dynamic slot value providingproduct information from the intelligent product catalog systemcorresponding to the dynamic slot type event; the compute servicecomputing system configured to respond to reconfiguring the gateway bytransmitting via the application programing interface (API) the dynamicslot value to the conversation builder; and the conversation builderconfigured to transmit via the conversational interface the dynamic slotvalue in answering the question.